Dear SAF, My IPPT Manifesto.

Dear SAF, 

It is every guy's duty in Singapore to serve the nation and be part of our defense force.(*well, do not correct me just yet, yes we do know there are some do kind of "escape" it in one way or the other but this is not the whole idea about this article. cough*) While many pre-army boys will tell you how much they hate the idea about going into army and waste the 2yrs, we the re-service guys will tell you that the 2 years of army is nothing as compared to the agony you will be going through later part of your life. Some until late 30s and some until 40s. The four scary letters - IPPT. 

In fact many agree when it comes to comparing IPPT and ICT(In camp training/Re-service), ICT are awesome as you go back to catch up with our friends as well as update ourselves on our defense system and it somehow gives us some time away from our work and wives and just back in camp to gather with some "brothers" but IPPT on the other hand can be really painful. When you spent 10hours a day in front of the desk working and many other commitment at home, it's really difficult to get time to train yourself to be SAF certified physically fit. 

IS THAT SO? Or is that not so? Frankly speaking, not training is an excuse, being busy is an excuse too so what is the problem? IPPT has never been my best friend and in fact it has always been a pain in my ass but I manage to clear both my window while I was an active soldier, in fact I was so close to getting an IPPT silver for the 1st time in my life. Than what went wrong? Or rather what went right during those days? I ran 5 days a week(at least 5km and average above 10km), I do PT trainings at least 3 days a week, I was 10 yrs younger, I do other physical training and i ate a very healthy meals which was provided by SFI. On top of that, I sleep more than 10hours a day. Seriously, what is the chance of me having such life after that? Will I be anywhere close if I put in half the effort? I guess we pretty much know the answer.

To me, the goal set by SAF to pass my IPPT is, well I wouldn't say impossible but I would say it is not SMART. As many motivation speakers would have taught you by now, by setting a SMART goal it simply means setting a goal which is 

Of course, the goal set by SAF to me is considered as not attainable nor is it realistic to me at this point of my life. Did I try? Hell yeah I did. During my first year of ORD I tried my best to maintain my shape but to no avail I did not manage to pass 1 of the station which was my weakest through out my army life - chin up and Standing Board Jump.In fact I tried so hard I have slight injuries over my shoulder and knees over the years. 

The whole idea about IPPT is in such a format that once we fail 1 subject, we fail the whole test. If given anyone who fail a single station, what are the chances of that person doing their best for all the rest of the stations? The game is simple, putting it in a very singlish way" fail 1 also fail, fail 5 also fail, what is the difference? f*ck it lah." 

Probably they might be saying,"comon Smith, you are not a quitter, you should fight on and be stronger! Be better and improve!"

I am saying"Bitch please, I tried, i fought, i lost and there are some battles we just have to give cause we know we can't win." 

From the point of view of an obese soldier who had never complete a single 2.4km run before army till completing a half marathon of 21km,I dare to say I pretty much know how it feels to be both fit and unfit as well as unmotivated and motivated at the same time. I am saying that it is not impossible to motivate(us) people to get fit again but it is about setting Attainable and Realistic goals. That is the key to sports motivation. It is not always about the incentive about $100 or $200, in fact emotional incentive is way more awesome than monetary incentive. When people feel good about themselves and they feel like they are top of the world and nothing, I say NOTHING beats that feeling. 

No, do not get me wrong. I am not saying that we should lower any standard of IPPT. I am talking about something which I have talked about before on my blog previously. I did some paraphrasing while talking to a friend.

"every soldier has got their different capability and so does our vocation need us in different ways. Not all soldiers are suppose to be the same, not mentaliy, not physically.. why not we implement an ippt system that give u 6 station choose 4. And on top of that make 2.4km as compulsory since all soldiers need to run."

In fact, I did write in this suggestion to the PTI at my camp during my previous session of IPT lessons 2 windows ago but apparently there wasn't any followup on this suggestions. I have talked to many and shared this idea with many and we see more pros than cons in this situation. Solder can choose the station they are better at, they will be more motivated to try and pass the stations they are better at and even for the scholars up there, they can show a better KPI of a higher % of passes in IPPT.

I am not writing this article because I am stuck down in the rabbit hole with eternal years of RT or IPT that I wish to escape. I am writing this article because I hope someone will actually read and look into our system again. Let's not fall into a typical scene of "The Broken Window Theory" and succumb to conformity. I believe that everyone has a part to play in improving a system considering the fact that we ARE all part of the system.  

I sincerely hope someone will pick this up. Maybe not this year, maybe not next but at least sometime down the road. 

Yours Sincerely,

IPPT Woes.